In-depth articles
Articles
13 articles to understand the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak, the Andes virus and hantaviruses in general. Sources from WHO, ECDC, CDC and verified press.
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Décryptage
Hantavirus: should you be afraid? Assessing the real danger
The Andes virus is as severe as Ebola at the individual level (case fatality around 40%), but the WHO assesses the risk to the general population as low. We disentangle severity and probability, with sources from Flahault, WHO, ECDC.
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Actualité
Hantavirus in France: historical cases and the MV Hondius episode
Status of hantavirus cases in France as of 11 May 2026: first Andes case confirmed in a French national repatriated from the MV Hondius, 22 hospital-isolated contacts, decree of 10 May on the 42-day quarantine at Bichat.
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Médical
Hantavirus: symptoms, incubation period and treatment
Hantavirus symptoms phase by phase, incubation period up to 42 days for the Andes virus, intensive-care management and absence of a specific antiviral. Sources: CDC and WHO.
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Décryptage
MV Hondius, a pandemic dress rehearsal: what the GPMB 2026 report says
The MV Hondius episode worked as a real-world test of global health cooperation. Cross-read with the GPMB 2026 report released on 18 May.
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Comprendre
Hantavirus: what is it? Definition, transmission, severity
A hantavirus is an RNA virus carried by wild rodents. Rare but severe in humans. Definition, transmission routes, clinical forms and key figures verified against WHO, ECDC, CDC sources.
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Médical
Andes hantavirus vaccine: where does research stand?
No vaccine is licensed against Andes hantavirus. A DNA candidate cleared phase 1 successfully, but the efficacy trial hits one obstacle: too few patients.
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Décryptage
Hantavirus and the COVID reflex: same fears, same hoaxes
The hantavirus outbreak revives COVID-era reflexes: anxiety, media over-reading and recycled disinformation. A measured breakdown, with sources.
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Décryptage
Decontamination: why you wet surfaces instead of sweeping
Cleaning a hantavirus-contaminated area is never done dry: sweeping or vacuuming puts the virus back into the air. The principle explained, with CDC protocol.
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Medical
Andes virus: phylogeny, transmission, 2026 sequencing
Andes virus is the agent of the MV Hondius cluster. Phylogeny, distribution, person-to-person transmission, comparison with other American hantaviruses, and the 2026 Institut Pasteur sequencing results.
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Understand
Other hantavirus strains worldwide
Overview of the main human hantavirus strains: Sin Nombre, Puumala, Hantaan, Seoul, Dobrava-Belgrade. Geography, reservoirs, syndromes (HPS vs HFRS), comparative case fatality.
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News
Tristan da Cunha: British paratroopers airdrop for an MV Hondius passenger
On 13 May 2026, six British paratroopers and two military clinicians parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha, the UK's most remote inhabited island, to deliver medical supplies to an MV Hondius passenger with a suspected hantavirus infection.
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UnderstandWhich rodent carries hantavirus? The long-tailed pygmy rice rat, reservoir of Andes virus
The long-tailed pygmy rice rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus) is the rodent reservoir of Andes virus in Patagonia. Description, range, role in human transmission.
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InvestigationUshuaia landfill: the index-case theory seriously called into question
Initially presented by some media as the Schilperoord couple's exposure site, the Ushuaia landfill is now contested by WHO, local Argentine authorities and several experts. Updated 14 May 2026.